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Planet Earth II
| country = United Kingdom | language = English | num_episodes = 6 | list_episodes = | executive_producer = Vanessa Berlowitz, Mike Gunton, James Brickell, Tom Hugh-Jones | runtime = 60 minutes | company = | distributor = | network = BBC One | picture_format = | audio_format = | first_aired = | last_aired = | preceded_by = Planet Earth | related = Blue Planet II | website = http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p02544td | production_website = }} Planet Earth II is a 2016 British nature documentary series produced by the BBC as a sequel to Planet Earth, which was broadcast in 2006. The series is presented and narrated by Sir David Attenborough with the main theme music composed by Hans Zimmer. The first trailer was released on 9 October 2016, and the series premiered on 6 November 2016 in the United Kingdom on BBC One and BBC One HD. Planet Earth II is the first television series produced by the BBC in Ultra-high-definition (4K). A sequel titled Planet Earth III is currently announced and planned to air in 2022. Production The series was announced by the BBC in 2013 with the working title One Planet, but the title was later changed to Planet Earth II. The BBC trailer for the series used the same music featured in the trailer for the original Planet Earth, "Hoppípolla" by Icelandic post-rock band Sigur Rós. The original Planet Earth, airing in 2006, was one of the first natural documentary series to be made in high definition (HD) and Planet Earth II utilised new technologies developed since the first series, including ultra high definition (4K), improved camera stabilisation, remote recording and aerial drone technology. Broadcast British television The premiere of Planet Earth II took place at Bristol's Cinema de Lux on 2 November 2016 with special guest appearance by Attenborough. Bristol has been the global home of BBC's Natural History programme making for almost 60 years. The series debuted on BBC One and BBC One HD the following Sunday (6 November) from 8pm to 9pm. Each of the six episodes included a 10-minute making-of documentary called Planet Earth II Diaries. The previous week's episode was repeated in an earlier time slot the following Sunday. International The series was broadcast internationally on BBC Earth channel with a few exceptions for some countries. The series aired in Belgium on the Flemish channel Canvas, narrated in Dutch by Vic De Wachter, with episodes airing each Wednesday from 7 December 2016. In the Netherlands the series is airing on the Dutch channel NPO 1, narrated by Peter Drost, with episodes airing each Sunday from 1 January 2017. In Japan, the series aired on NHK – with four special episodes aired on 23 December 2016 and concluded on 19 February 2017 respectively, while all the six original episodes were broadcast from 29 March 2017 until 6 May 2017. In Australia, the series premiered on 15 February 2017 on the Nine Network. As for New Zealand, it aired from 9 July 2017 at Prime channel. The series debuted in Canada and the United States on 18 February 2017, with the Canadian broadcast on the local BBC Earth channel (which recently launched), In the United States, the series premiered with a three-network simulcast across BBC America, AMC, and SundanceTV (owned by AMC Networks, who manages BBC America on behalf of BBC Worldwide). In Israel, the series premiered on 20 May 2017 on the new public broadcasting network KAN 11. In the Philippines, the series premiered on 17 June 2018 on GMA Network through its version Amazing Earth for the first season. Episodes The series comprises six episodes plus the compilation episode "A World of Wonder". Official episode viewing figures are from BARB. The first episode gained 12.26 million viewers in the United Kingdom, the highest under the current system of viewing figures for a nature documentary. |Viewers = 12.26 |ShortSummary = Remote islands offer sanctuary for some of the planet's strangest and rarest creatures. The rare pygmy three-toed sloth enjoys a peaceful existence on an idyllic Caribbean island, while nesting albatross thrive in predator-free isolation. But island life always comes at a cost. On the Galapagos Islands, young marine iguana must escape an onslaught of deadly racer snakes the moment they hatch from the sand. On the sub-Antarctic island of Zavodovski, life gets more extreme still. Every day, one and a half million penguins risk being battered against the rocks by fierce waves as they try to get on and off the island. |LineColor = #000000 }} |Viewers = 13.14 |ShortSummary = The great mountain ranges are some of the planet's most spectacular landscapes, but they are unforgiving places to live in, and only a few animals have what it takes to live at extreme altitude. Mountain animals are amongst the most elusive in the world, and this film provides unique and intimate glimpses into their secretive lives. Witness the moment four snow leopards come together when a mother and cub become trapped between two rival males. Join grizzly bears as they dance against trees to rub off their winter fur and soar with golden eagles hunting amongst Europe's snow-capped peaks. |LineColor = #000000 }} |Viewers = 11.60 |ShortSummary = Jungles provide the richest habitats on the planet – mysterious worlds of high drama where extraordinary animals attempt to survive in the most competitive place on earth. Flooded forests are home to caiman-hunting jaguars and strange dolphins that swim amongst the tree tops, while in the dense underworld, ninja glass frogs fight off wasps and flying dragons soar between trees. High in the canopy slender-bodied spider monkeys brachiate through the thin branches helping each other along the way. Acrobatic indri leap through the forests of Madagascar, while the jungle night conceals strange fungi and glow-in-the-dark creatures never filmed before. |LineColor = #000000 }} |Viewers = 11.88 |ShortSummary = The world's deserts are lands of extremes that force animals to come up with ingenious ways of coping with hostile conditions, giving rise to the most incredible survival stories on earth. A pride of desert lions are so hungry they risk hunting a giraffe several times their size, while male sandgrouse fly 120 miles each day to the nearest waterhole and dice with death to collect water for their chicks. Filmed for the first time, a tiny bat does battle with one of the world's deadliest scorpions, and in Madagascar, a locust swarm of biblical proportions is seen as never before. |LineColor = #000000 }} |Viewers = 11.54 |ShortSummary = Grasslands cover one-quarter of all land and support the vast gatherings of wildlife, but to survive here animals must endure the most hostile seasonal changes on the planet. From Asia's bizarre-looking saiga antelope to the giant anteaters of Brazil, grassland animals have adapted in extraordinary ways to cope with these extremes. In the flooded Okavango, lions take on formidable buffalo in epic battles, on the savannah, bee-eaters take advantage of a kori bustard, a flock of ostriches, and an African savanna elephant bull to help catch insects and, on the freezing northern tundra, caribou embark on great migrations shadowed by hungry Arctic wolves. |LineColor = #000000 }} |Viewers = 11.10 |ShortSummary = Cities are growing at a faster rate than any other habitat on Earth. They may seem an unlikely place for animals to thrive, but they can be a world of surprising opportunity. Leopards prowl the streets of Mumbai, peregrine falcons hunt amongst New York City's skyscrapers, and a million starlings perform spectacular aerial dances over Rome. In Jodhpur, langurs are revered as religious deities and in Harar, locals live in harmony with wild hyenas. Many animals, however, struggle to cope in the urban jungle. As the architects of this environment, can humans choose to build cities that are homes for both them and wildlife? |LineColor = #000000 }} |Viewers = 12.02 |ShortSummary = A compilation of the wildlife series presented by David Attenborough. |LineColor = #000000 }} }} Reception Independent s Christopher Hooton said of the series: "It is undoubtedly the greatest TV nature documentary to date and there's a strong case for it being one of the best TV series full stop." Michael Hogan from The Telegraph compared this series to the original Planet Earth series and said that "advances in technology have enabled intimate high-definition close-ups and gasp-inducing aerial shots" and said "It has become predictable to heap superlatives upon the BBC Natural History Unit and wax lyrical about Attenborough’s status. But both institutions should be treasured while we’re lucky enough to still have them." However, Martin Hughes-Games, while calling the series "spectacular and fascinating", said it "become a disaster for the world’s wildlife" and that while world animal populations are decreasing, "the producers this show continue to go to the fast shrinking parks and reserves to make their films – creating a beautiful, beguiling fantasy world". The series was also the highest rated TV Show on IMDb's list of Top Rated TV Shows before it was topped by HBO's Chernobyl. Awards and nominations Merchandise DVD and Blu-ray The series was released as a two-disc DVD and Blu-ray sets on 5 December 2016, while a four-disc 4K UHD Blu-ray + Blu-ray sets were released later on 13 March 2017. It was distributed by BBC Worldwide in the UK. In the US and Canada, the DVD, Blu-ray and 4K UHD Blu Ray sets were released on 28 March 2017 and distributed by BBC Worldwide Americas. They also contain the documentary Planet Earth II: Diaries which consists of the six 10-minute making-of documentaries that followed the broadcast of each episode. In Australia and New Zealand, the DVD, Blu-ray and 4K UHD Blu Ray sets were released by ABC DVD/Village Roadshow on 29 March 2017. Books An accompanying hardback book was written by Steven Moss with a foreword by David Attenborough and published by BBC Books ( ). It was released on 6 October 2016 in the UK, and on 15 February 2017 for the US release. Soundtrack The soundtrack was released with a compilation of the incidental music specially commissioned for Planet Earth II. The main theme was composed by Hans Zimmer, with the original music for each episode composed by Jacob Shea and Jasha Klebe for Bleeding Fingers Music. A digital soundtrack was released worldwide on 11 November 2016, while a two-disc soundtrack became available on 2 December 2016 in the UK. Notes References External links * * Planet Earth II at BBC Earth * Planet Earth II at BBC Earth Asia * Planet Earth II at BBC Media Centre * *''Planet Earth II'' at NHK *Planet Earth II – Conservation on Film via Conjour (Conservation Journal) Category:2016 British television programme debuts Category:2016 British television programme endings Category:2010s British documentary television series Category:David Attenborough Category:BBC Television programmes Category:Documentary films about nature Category:BBC high definition programmes Category:BBC television documentaries Category:English-language television programs Category:Television series scored by Hans Zimmer Category:Television series scored by Jacob Shea Category:Television series scored by Jasha Klebe